This month marks four years since we packed up our home in Indiana and left everyone and everything we’d known as a family for more than 20 years. It was exciting and scary all at once. I couldn’t wait for my Midwestern daughters to see palm trees and experience the roar of waves hitting the beach, both for the first time. The only stop of many that I remember during my years as a young Navy brat is Norfolk, Virginia, and I was anxious for my girls to have a similar experience.
It was crazy moving so far so quickly. I had nightmares for two years. Even after months of living here and being settled in, I would sometimes wake up feeling disoriented and taking a few moments to remember where I was. Despite the anxiety of such a dramatic change, we embraced our new adventure as a family, searching for new beaches, springs and parks to explore every other weekend. The enchantment of having banana trees in our backyard and the startling, prehistoric-sounding Sandhill cranes only added to the surreal feeling of our new home.
I wondered how long it would take for Florida to feel like home. We travel every summer for a family reunion on my mother’s side, and for the first three summers, when locals would ask where we were visiting from, I would catch myself starting to say “Indianapolis” instead of “Central Florida.” I love it here, but I think for those first three years, it just felt like a strange, extended vacation where I still had to earn a living while visiting.
Well, something has finally clicked. We traveled to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for this year’s family reunion. The Smoky Mountains feel like a second home since that is most often where our reunion takes place with a variation every few years. It’s lush and green and beautiful there. I truly love it. We had a wonderful time visiting with my 88-year-old grandfather who I adore, along with my sweet mother, two of my aunts, a handful of cousins, my incredible brother and his wife, and my very cute nieces and nephew. We played games together, took many laps on the lazy river together, ate together, laughed together (we can be quite obnoxious) … it was so great and much needed.
We took the route home that includes driving through Cherokee, North Carolina. We stopped to eat there and spent many hours taking photos of the mountains, walking through parks, and pulling over to creek stomp and watch butterflies. It was one of the best days I’ve had with my husband and youngest daughter since our oldest daughter left for college, which has been a huge adjustment. I’m trying to say this was an amazing, beautiful trip that I won’t soon forget.
And then, after two days in the car, we started seeing familiar sights. The palm trees. The Orlando Eye (or whatever its current name is). The Volcano. The lights. Familiar street names and exits. Ahhhh … HOME!
Orlando, Central Florida, St. Cloud … it all finally feels like not just an extended vacation, but it’s home! What a great feeling!
What changed? We’ve loved it here from day one, so it wasn’t a lack of affection. Maybe it’s just the time that has passed. Maybe it’s the people we’ve gotten to know and work with. Maybe it’s the lessons we’ve learned and the experiences we’ve gained. Maybe it’s the trials – and hurricanes – we’ve endured and the strength we’ve gathered as a result. Maybe it’s a little bit of all of those things combined.
Whatever it is, I know that Lake Nona – its innovative approach to living and the outstanding people here – is an integral part of this tropical paradise finally feeling like home. And I’m so grateful for that!
Welcome home, Lake Nona!
